Open Source, Openness, and Higher Education
In this article, the author discusses copyright and accessibly issues as they relate to the growth of open source software in distance education. The positive influence of open source software on higher education is first explored, then the author argues that this movement is not only positive, but necessary for the future growth of distance learning. Different types of open source software are discussed, along with their advantages toward accessibility. The author contends that delivery of open source software allows access to a more diverse, wide - spread audience. Specialized open source software can even allow access to higher education to an audience of users with unique special needs that was once impossible.
One of the drawbacks to open source software that is discussed in academic circles is the threat to faculty jobs. The argument is - basically, that as students have easier, free access to open source software, the teacher holds less of the original content. Example given, "if people can watch my lectures online or read my lecture notes, then why would the university keep me around at all?" Wiley addresses this argument in article and in his conclusion states that he believes that the future of higher education will depend on its ability to match the worldwide trend toward openness.
This article does an excellent job of giving the reader some basic background information on what open source software is, where it came from, and why it took so long to integrate into the mainstream. The author explains that open source software has been around for a long time. The reason most users have never known, or used, open source software is that this type of software was generally for advanced users. In the past, open source software required advance programing knowledge and the software was generally only applicable to more advanced programing - type software. Because of this, normal computer users had little use for open source software. Today, open source software is related to common computer programs that people use in their everyday lives. Word processing, spreadsheets, videos players, and presentation software of high quality are readily available on the Internet as open source. This makes the open source software more useful to more people. In addition, this new generation of open source software can quickly and flawlessly be delivered via the Internet. The ease of use and quick installation make open source software useful to even the most novice of users.
For all of these reasons, the author contends, open source software has become a major factor in the world of online learning. Because this high quality software is readily available and easily used, the amount of access to users is significantly increased. The ramifications of this in the higher education world is increased access. I think this is a significant factor in today's eLearning and in the eLearning of the future. I see one of the major problems facing eLearning is access. As more and more responsibly for the learning environment and the content shifts to the user, it will become more of a challenge to institutions to provide the means for easy, affordable access. I see it like this...if an institution requires the use of specialized software such as presentation software, communications software, or graphics software, the number of students who have that software loaded on their PC will be minimal. Additionally, by requiring specific software to be loaded on the PC, the institution has effectively excluded the user who accesses the class via a public access computer at the library or learning center. In the same vein, as online classes become more sophisticated and complex, the need will be for more specialized software platforms to effectively deliver the course content. These two factors - the need for more specialized software and limited access to specialized software - could effectively cancel out access to a large number of potential students. The answer to this problem, as the author of this article points out, is open source software. If the specialized software can be made available and accessed easily by the end user, then the problem of access is solved. With little or no additional cost or computing skills needed, the everyday computer user can participate on an equal platform with a advance computer user.
Wiley points out an issue in the article that doesn't necessarily threaten the open source software movement, but this problem does demand to be addressed by the distance learning community. The issue is that open source software, like any resource that is user supplied on the Internet, demands a standardized peer review system. We have all heard of the issues with using - for example - a Wiki as a reference. Because the source is undocumented and not peer reviewed it can not be considered authoritative. This fact is relevant regardless of the content. The same argument applies to open source software. Because this type of software is not developed by "big players" in the software world like Microsoft or Google then the source of the software must be examined for authenticity. This problem does not diminish the quality of the open source software, nor does it negate the effect open source software is having on higher education. I agree with the author's solution that the institutions that govern distance education must develop some agreed upon method of analyzing and authenticating open source software that is used by higher education institutions.
Wiley, D. (2006). Open source, openness, and higher education. Innovate 3 (1). Retrieved 15 October, 2008 from http://www.innovateonline.info/index/php?view=article&id=354.